Development Communications Manager

KickStart International is seeking an enthusiastic and entrepreneurial Donor Communications Manager to be part of our Individual Giving team.

About the Organization:

KickStart-International www.kickstart.org is an award-winning, nonprofit social enterprise with a mission to lift millions of people in Africa out of poverty. They do this by designing and mass-marketing human-powered irrigation pumps. These low-cost pumps are bought by poor local farmers who use them to water their crops year-round rather than waiting for the unreliable rain that only comes for a few months out of the year. They grow and sell high value crops throughout the year—especially in the long dry “hungry” seasons when the prices are highest—and on average increase their net annual incomes by over $700. For the first time they can properly feed and educate their children, afford healthcare and plan for their futures. To date, more than 200,000 farming families have used MoneyMaker pumps to climb out of poverty.

KickStart and its Co-Founders are Skoll Social Entrepreneur Awardees, Schwab Foundation awardees and were included on Forbes Magazine’s “Impact 30 List” among the world’s leading social entrepreneurs in 2011. Additionally, the U.S. Department of State presented KickStart with the first-ever Innovation Award for the Empowerment of Women and Girls in 2012.

About the Position:

KickStart is seeking a Donor Communications Manager based in New York City. This position will work in close collaboration with the Director of Key Relationships and the rest of the Development Team to raise KickStart’s brand profile and to secure gifts from individual donors by developing and implementing our overall donor communications strategy, appeal mailings and stewardship communications. Additionally, the position will work with the Development Team, CEO, and Board of Directors to define and achieve KickStart’s individual giving and communications goals.

The Donor Communications Manager will ensure the branding guidelines are upheld across the organization, as well as manage the website, social media platforms, and production of the annual reports and e-newsletters.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Lead the development of a wide range of communication material to attract, solicit, and steward donors, including acknowledgments, appeals, emails, greeting cards, letters, proposals, publications, and speeches
Write, manage, and edit website and newsletter content and design accompanying visuals
Collaborate with colleagues across departments to capture impact stories and covey them through written and visual content in donor appeals, online, and in annual reports
Develop a plan for, and lead KickStart’s interactions with, press
Assist in researching individual and family foundation prospects to determine potential alignment and interest in KickStart
Mine current individual donor base to identify prospects for major gifts, upgrades, recurring giving, and leadership groups
Serve as KickStart’s primary steward for annual fund and mid-level donors, as well as the Young Professionals Board
Maintain KickStart’s social media platforms and support the CEO in building a more robust online presence
Lead the execution of online crowdfunding campaigns
Assist in coordinating donor cultivation meetings and special events
Support the Development Team in maintaining an annual individual giving calendar, including cultivation and stewardship activities, appeals and campaigns, and special events
Assist in editing reports
Oversee donor acknowledgement process and provide customized acknowledgements as appropriate
Other duties as assigned

Position requires travel and working on weekends, early in the morning or late in the evening as necessary for donor cultivation events and meetings and/or to collaborate with colleagues in Africa and the United States.

Please note: No relocation offered for this position.

How to Apply

To apply, kindly email your cover letter and resume to info@kickstart.org. This position is open until filled. Please indicate “Donor Communications Manager– NY” in the subject line of your e-mail application. Please also include in your cover letter where you saw this job posting.